Power Up Your Brain by David Perlmutter M. D., Alberto Villoldo Ph.d. Page A
Authors: David Perlmutter M. D., Alberto Villoldo Ph.d.
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of Parkinson’s disease. Those who used insecticides in the garden showed a 50 percent increased risk of the disorder compared with those who had never been exposed to home pesticides of any type. In-home use of insect-killing chemicals was associated with a 70 percent increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, compared with no use of pesticide.” 1 And since pesticides directly target mitochondrial function, there’s reason for much broader concern as mitochondrial function is impaired in all manner of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, autism, and epilepsy. And new research is focusing on the damaging effects on mitochondrial function as an explanation of the significant increase in risk for diabetes in people exposed to pesticides.
And environmental toxins don’t just affect individuals directly; their effects are transmitted to the next generation. Recent blood tests taken from the umbilical cords of newborns in the United States and Europe showed contamination by more than 200 toxic chemicals, including plastics. 2 These babies are being born with a tremendous toxic burden that may greatly increase their chances of developing serious illnesses and degenerative brain disorders later in life.
And while these infants have no say in what toxins their mothers may have consumed, willingly or inadvertently, consenting adults are choosing to allow known toxins to enter their bodies. For example, it’s common knowledge that mercury fillings used by dentists release toxic gases that are readily absorbed by fat in the brain, where they interfere with the functioning of the nervous system. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to get this mercury poisoning out of the body
Whether transmitted in utero, ingested, inhaled, absorbed through the skin, or drilled into our teeth, such toxins impact our cells, which were not designed to eliminate large quantities of harmful environmental poisons.
ACUTE AND CHRONIC STRESS
Psychologists identify two kinds of stress: acute and chronic. Both affect the health of mitochondria in our cells and our general well-being.
Acute stress is relatively short-lived. It’s what you encounter when faced with a novel learning situation, and it is actually good for you in the sense that it allows you to remember the event, be it positive or negative. This is the type of stress you experience when you’re challenged to be your best, whether as a child about to make your first solo musical performance at school or as an adult when faced with a demanding intellectual situation or a physical challenge such as running a marathon. I (Alberto) was in Chile during the devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake of 2010. While it was a terrifying experience to have the earth move under my feet for several minutes, this catastrophe brought out the best in people, as neighbors rallied to help each other tend to those who were hurt and to help rebuild their homes and their lives.
Chronic stress is long-lasting. It occurs when you worry all month about how you’re going to make your mortgage payment, or when you dread every day waking up next to the person you married many years earlier, or when your cells are continuously burdened with eliminating toxic wastes and heavy metals acquired from a polluted environment and now stored within the cell wall. The great earthquake in Chile was followed by a month of aftershocks—more than 300 greater than 5.0 in magnitude in total. During this month, everyone slept fitfully, as they did not know when the earth would start shaking again. After two weeks, the entire population was sleep-deprived and exhausted, with their fight-or-flight systems stuck in the on position because there was no one to fight and nowhere to flee.
Our bodies have a system in place to deal with stress. The HPA axis—which refers to three organs, the hypothalamus, the pituitary, and the adrenal glands—regulates our fight-or-flight system. The pituitary gland
And environmental toxins don’t just affect individuals directly; their effects are transmitted to the next generation. Recent blood tests taken from the umbilical cords of newborns in the United States and Europe showed contamination by more than 200 toxic chemicals, including plastics. 2 These babies are being born with a tremendous toxic burden that may greatly increase their chances of developing serious illnesses and degenerative brain disorders later in life.
And while these infants have no say in what toxins their mothers may have consumed, willingly or inadvertently, consenting adults are choosing to allow known toxins to enter their bodies. For example, it’s common knowledge that mercury fillings used by dentists release toxic gases that are readily absorbed by fat in the brain, where they interfere with the functioning of the nervous system. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to get this mercury poisoning out of the body
Whether transmitted in utero, ingested, inhaled, absorbed through the skin, or drilled into our teeth, such toxins impact our cells, which were not designed to eliminate large quantities of harmful environmental poisons.
ACUTE AND CHRONIC STRESS
Psychologists identify two kinds of stress: acute and chronic. Both affect the health of mitochondria in our cells and our general well-being.
Acute stress is relatively short-lived. It’s what you encounter when faced with a novel learning situation, and it is actually good for you in the sense that it allows you to remember the event, be it positive or negative. This is the type of stress you experience when you’re challenged to be your best, whether as a child about to make your first solo musical performance at school or as an adult when faced with a demanding intellectual situation or a physical challenge such as running a marathon. I (Alberto) was in Chile during the devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake of 2010. While it was a terrifying experience to have the earth move under my feet for several minutes, this catastrophe brought out the best in people, as neighbors rallied to help each other tend to those who were hurt and to help rebuild their homes and their lives.
Chronic stress is long-lasting. It occurs when you worry all month about how you’re going to make your mortgage payment, or when you dread every day waking up next to the person you married many years earlier, or when your cells are continuously burdened with eliminating toxic wastes and heavy metals acquired from a polluted environment and now stored within the cell wall. The great earthquake in Chile was followed by a month of aftershocks—more than 300 greater than 5.0 in magnitude in total. During this month, everyone slept fitfully, as they did not know when the earth would start shaking again. After two weeks, the entire population was sleep-deprived and exhausted, with their fight-or-flight systems stuck in the on position because there was no one to fight and nowhere to flee.
Our bodies have a system in place to deal with stress. The HPA axis—which refers to three organs, the hypothalamus, the pituitary, and the adrenal glands—regulates our fight-or-flight system. The pituitary gland
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